U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today slammed Senate Democrats refusal to provide funding for Zika, a public health emergency and for failing to fund our troops.
For the third time this year, Senate Democrats voted against a formerly agreed to bipartisan $1.1 billion compromise in emergency funding to fight Zika – a level that Centers For Disease Control And Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden confirmed is the level required to meet the immediate needs of Zika response efforts.
“President Obama is directing Democrat Senators to put public health and safety of the American people aside in favor of partisan politics,” Daines stated. “It is simply inexcusable that my friends across the aisle have again blocked these very important pieces of legislation and put the safety and the public’s health at risk.”
On June 23, the U.S. House of Representatives passed this legislation by a vote of 239-171.
The House-Senate conference report provides $1.1 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development to combat the Zika virus. These dollars would support Zika response efforts, medical research for vaccines and diagnostic tests, and health and social services in afflicted areas.
###